


Restless Heart

by DarkenInTheSkies



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 21:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7774555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkenInTheSkies/pseuds/DarkenInTheSkies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke never expected to fall in love with Lexa one summer twelve years ago. She never expected for Lexa to never call after she left. She certainly never expected to see her in a gurney in her hospital. </p>
<p>She met Lexa while running from her problems, and she ran right into green eyes. She's been trying to escape them ever since.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Restless Heart

Prologue

Dr. Clarke Griffin walked into the emergency room of Polis General Hospital. One of her interns placed a chart in her outstretched hand as she crossed in front of the desk. She wasn’t really supposed to be here, but was filling in for the other orthopedic attending. Her eyes scanned over the chart, the name causing her breath to hitch. L. Woods.

Clarke shuddered at the familiar look of the name, but attempted to convince herself that L. Woods could be anyone, and not the woman for whom she still ached, 12 years after the last time she saw her.

So many good memories were attached to Lexa Woods, and one painful goodbye.

It wasn’t even a goodbye. It was a non-event wrapped in a letter and draped in broken promises.

If there was one regret Clarke had in life, it was letting Lexa slip away. She often thought of her warm, bronzed skin, her chestnut hair, and piercing, emerald eyes. God those eyes. Clarke remembered getting lost in them for hours, sitting on her dock or doing something ridiculous that Lexa had planned for them.

Clarke shook her head, gripping the chart as she approached the bed belonging to L. Woods. She needed to finally move on from this long ago summer fling. Lexa left her, and Clarke never chased after her. What’s done is done.

Clarke sighed and pushed the curtain open, her eyes still looking at the chart. “Ok, Miss Woods, my name is Dr. Griffin, and I’ll be taking care of you today. Let’s take a look at your ankle.”

“Clarke.”

The sound of her voice caused the blonde’s head to snap up, her eyes locking with the green ones belonging to the woman on the bed. It took everything she had to not drop the chart on the floor. No amount of suspicion or longing prepared her for this moment.  
Clarke could feel herself drowning, something she hadn't felt in over ten years. All that mattered was her eyes.

“Lexa.”

******  
Chapter 1  
(12 years ago)

Clarke stretched her legs as she stepped out of her black, Mercedes SUV. She walked around to the back, inspecting the latch holding the trailer with her boat. She could feel the hot sun caressing her skin, and couldn't help but feel excited about the prospect of being in the water in only a few hours.

She just finished her sophomore year of college, which had been stressful. But now it was over, and Clarke had all summer to unwind up at her family's summer home in northern Wisconsin. It was a long way from their home in Washington D.C., but the Griffin family had been taking the summer months off in the small town since Clarke was around five.

Her father, Jake, had been in Madison consulting on the instillation of new piping systems for the city, when he was invited to join a colleague at their cottage on a lake outside of town. He ended up spending the entire weekend in the quaint town and purchased property himself. Of course, his wife, Abby hadn’t been thrilled when he returned from a business trip with new property, but eventually she came around.

Clarke, like her father, had been in love with the place since she first stepped into town. Richfield was a breath of fresh air. D.C. could feel so stuffy and suffocating, but up north, Clarke felt she could truly relax. There were parties, shenanigans, and the occasional drama, but that did not compare to the chaos of navigating D.C. with the last name Griffin.

In Richfield Clarke could just put on jeans and a nice t-shirt, walk outside, grab a beer, and dance the night away. So each summer she drove from D.C. to Wisconsin, pulling the boat her dad had bought for her. Over the years she had fallen in with a great group of people. They all met just outside of Chicago at the Belvidere Oasis, where she was now, before caravanning the rest of the way to the lake.

Clarke flicked her wrist to check her watch. It was noon; they should be getting here soon.

"Hey, Princess," Clarke heard a voice call out, a smile instantly playing on the corners of her lips.

In the distance she saw Bellamy Blake driving up in his black Jeep, his sister Octavia smiling next to him. Clarke first met the Blakes when she was barely eleven years old. They were from Richfield, and Clarke met them after she and Finn, her neighbor, accidentally made a mess at the candy store where Octavia worked.

“Fucking tourists,” Octavia had muttered underneath her breath as she swept up the mountain of jelly beans Finn had bumped into after Clarke pushed him. He’d been teasing her, and she was fed up.

Not taking kindly to the tourist pejorative, she fired back at Octavia. “Hey!” she said, marching up to the brunette. “I’m no tourist. I’ve been coming here for years.”

“Oh my mistake. You’re a princess,” the younger Blake had sneered. Finn had to catch Clarke before she stormed towards Octavia. Bellamy, then showed up and calmed everyone down, and the ordeal ended with the Blakes joining Clarke and Wells on the water later that day.

Despite the horrific introduction, Bellamy and Octavia became two of her closest friends. They went to school in Chicago, only 30 or so miles away, so it didn’t surprise the blonde that they were the first two to the meeting point.

"Hi! I missed you!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around Bellamy’s neck, before moving to Octavia.

"I missed you too! D.C. is too far away."

"I know,” the blonde replied, sadness tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Hey," Octavia said as she threw her arm around Clarke’s shoulders. “We know why you’re not at Northwestern with us.

“I know.” Clarke breathed deeply, willing the sudden prick of moisture at the corner of her eyes not to fall. “I just wish it were different.”

Bellamy pulled his younger sister and Clarke into a hug. “We’re going to have fun this summer, don’t worry.”

"I know." Clarke said with a small smile. "Have you heard from Finn and Raven?"

"Well," Octavia started, hesitating as she looked anywhere but Clarke’s face.

“What?” the blonde asked.

Bellamy looked at his sister before turning his attention to Clarke. “It’s complicated.”

Clarke raised her eyebrows. She knew she’d been a bit out of the loop over the course of the year, but this felt weird. “What could possibly be so complicated that Rae wouldn’t just tell me?”

“We’ll tell you later,” Octavia supplied, shooting her brother a look that communicated the need to move away from this subject immediately.  
Clarke looked between the two Blake’s. “Raven is coming right?”

“Strong maybe at this point.”

"What do you mean maybe?” Clarke asked. “Guys, what the hell is going on?”

Bellamy shrugged. “It’s not our story to tell, and we didn’t want to bother you with it. Maybe call Raven and tell her you want to see her once we get back to Richfield.”

“I’m calling her now.” Clarke dialed Raven’s number. Octavia and Bellamy were being super weird, even for them, and it just rubbed her the wrong way. If something was going on with Raven, she would have told her. Why was this such a thing?

“Hi, Griff,” Raven’s voice rang out in Clarke’s ear. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just wanted to check in with you,” the blonde responded. “Are you and Finn meeting us at Belvidere?”

Clarke heard Raven swallow on the other line. “Nope,” she said with a shaky breath. “I’m driving up by myself but I’ll be behind you by a few hours.”

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah,” Raven said, and Clarke could tell she was fake smiling through the phone. “Just make sure to have some Bourbon for me when I get there.”

“Nothing but the best for you, Rae.”

“Thanks.”

“See you soon, Reyes!”

Clarke hung up the phone and looked at the Blakes. “So something is going on with her, but we’ll meet up with her later.” She searched Ocatavia’s and Bellamy’s faces for clues, and naturally found nothing on their stoic faces. “Well, Jasper and Monty will meet us there since they’re driving from Stanford, and we shouldn’t have to wait for Finn since he lives right next door.”

“No good, son of a b—” Bellamy muttered under his breath.

“Better get going!” Octavia interrupted her brother, casting him a look to get him to shut up.

Clarke shook her head as she climbed back into her car. The rest of the drive was quick, and boring to most people. Chicagoland wasn’t much to look at, and the space between Chicago and Madison less so. Clarke, however, truly enjoyed the ride. Driving through the countryside was nothing like any other portion of the country Clarke had experienced. The land stretched on for miles and she could see all of it. The corn and bean fields had charmed their way into her heart. What most people thought was dull and plain, Clarke recognized as her second home.

It amused Clarke that so much of her life had taken place in this small town. While her friends in D.C. stayed home and bombed around clubs all summer, Clarke had escaped to a town they had never heard of, spending her time relaxing on the dock, swimming, tubing, or anything else she deemed necessary.

She loved seeing the kids around the town smiling, and would often volunteer at day camps. Being in Richfield was always so refreshing and relaxing, a feeling she simply couldn’t get anywhere else. It’d been a long year, and she needed this.

Clarke angrily honked her horn as she hit construction traffic outside of Janesville. Damn. She had been hoping to avoid this crap. To make matters worse, this idiot couldn't drive to save his life. But Richfield was only two hours away. She could make it two more hours.

***

Lexa rubbed a bar towel down her forearms. Droplets of sweat formed on her brow. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her overheating body. It was an unusually hot day for so early in the summer. Unexpected heat caused her brown hair to stick to her neck, which made Lexa more than a little cranky.

She ran a hand through her lengthy brunette locks, and lifted one work boot onto the empty crate in front of her as she started to braid her hair. The movement pulled her black skinny jeans tighter as her damp, white v neck clung to her stomach. Looser clothes would have been a good idea for today. She looked down at her top, which was rapidly becoming more sheer by the second. And perhaps a darker shirt.

Finishing her braid, the brunette picked up the crate, wincing at the weight on her sore muscles. The glasses inside the crate clattered as she dropped it on the counter. Her fingers curled underneath curve of the lid, and with a sharp tug and a grunt, she popped it off.

“Sounds like you’re struggling in here,” a voice said through the open door.

Lexa looked up, her green eyes locking with those belonging to her old friend. “Anya,” she said with a smile. “It’s good to see you.”

“Don’t look so surprised,” the blonde replied with a smirk. “You are in my bar.”

Lexa threw the towel that was resting on her shoulder towards Anya, the damp cloth hitting her shoulder. “Shut up,” she said. “I don’t know how you managed here without me to lift all the heavy stuff for you.”

“Well then, I guess I should thank you for running from your problems then.”

The glare shooting from Lexa’s emerald eyes was surely meant to be intimidating, but Anya could only muster a chuckle. “That glare of yours might work on your teammates, commander, but it will get you nowhere with me. I know all of your tricks.”

“Don’t talk about my teammates,” the brunette snapped.

The older woman flashed her hands up in defense, her own eyes, however, remained firm. Sometimes Lexa needed a little tough love, even if her younger friend was a bit resistant to it at first. “I’ll let it go, for now,” Anya conceded. “But don’t think you’re getting off this easily the whole summer.”

Lexa bowed her head in gratitude. “Thank you, Anya.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” the older woman said with her trademark smirk. “You’ve barely started working this summer. I plan to work you to the bone.”

“I could use the distraction,” Lexa confessed as she popped open a bottle against the bar.

Anya tilted her head and walked forward, reaching for Lexa’s forearm. “I know,” she said as her fingers closed around the younger woman’s arm. “It’ll be ok.”  
Lexa felt the tears well in her eyes, but she took a deep breath and willed them not to fall. She had a hard year, which was why she ran away to Richfield to begin with. Wisconsin is not exactly a state that she would deem to be tantalizing, but Lexa needed to get the hell out of Colorado. At least Wisconsin had trees, and a few hills to hike. Those were Lexa’s only requirements for the summer.

She met Anya when she was a kid. Anya had been a volunteer coach with Lexa’s middle school soccer team. Lexa, who was an only child, attached herself to Anya from the onset, and as much as the older woman tried to get rid of her, Lexa kept showing up. Whenever she whenever she was in trouble, Lexa called Anya, which is what happened a few months ago. Luckily for her, Anya owned a few small businesses in this little resort town. She gave Lexa a job, a bed, and the space she desperately needed.

If only, Anya could give her peace.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will be a mixture of flashbacks and present day, but will always be clearly marked. The intro is a little bit shorter because it's the intro, but rest assured, chapters will lengthen out a bit as we go forward.
> 
> I'm excited for this journey, and hope you all are as well. With Fall approaching, I wanted to bottle a little bit of summer. You can hit me up on tumblr at allmyfavesweretaken [dot] tumblr [dot] com.
> 
> -Sky


End file.
